SAP Aims ERP at Small Businesses

SAP focuses on smaller companies with latest Business One starter packages and hosted subscriptions.

SAP (NYSE: SAP) said it will better meet the needs of the smallest businesses with new hosted subscription and starter packages for the SAP Business One ERP solutions for small businesses.

The new starter packages let SAP channel partners offer a fixed-price, small-scale option for companies needing to equip only one to five users with business software, while the subscription-based, hosted delivery model let customers get started with minimal upfront cost and IT overhead through SAP partners like CAP Solutions, Datalab, Fasttrack, Onyx and Seidor.

The new Business One packages for small businesses are offered at a reduced price. The starter packages for SAP Business One comprise the basic finance, sales, purchasing, customer relationship management (CRM) and inventory functionality databases that SAP said small companies need to run their businesses.

SAP said it is launching the packages based on feedback from channel partners that were seeing strong response to similar scaled-down offerings in several of these regions, especially among startup companies.

VenloPack, a vacuum packaging company in the Netherlands, successfully implemented the SAP Business One starter package in just three days.

"With SAP Business One, we now have a complete solution that covers our entire business operation and will scale with us as we grow," said Klaas Scheffer, managing director of VenloPack. "As for return on investment, we expect to see that in only six months."

The software is ideal for those that need more than standard accounting or non-integrated business software and understand the benefits of a fully integrated business management and ERP solution. When they eventually grow and need to add more users, customers simply can upgrade to the standard edition of SAP Business One at any time, without having to reconfigure the software, said SAP.

The starter package is available for all countries and languages supported by SAP Business One. It is offered as a pre-packaged solution for specific countries. SAP said additional countries will be added this year.

Last month SAP also targeted small businesses with its release of the SAP Crystal Server 2011 and BusinessObjects Edge BI, giving small businesses entry-level and advanced business intelligence tools.

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